(Peru, Neb.) – Starting their season with one of the toughest schedules in many years, which included a tough opening tourney, the Peru State volleyball team came away with a 3-1 record in the Bethel Pilot Invitational in Mishawaka, Ind.
 
The Bobcats won their first three matches before dropping their fourth match of the tournament against the 24^th-ranked Indiana Wesleyan Wolves.
 
Cardinal Stritch Highlights
 
The Bobcats scored the first point of the 2016 in the first set on a Stritch hitting error. After Cardinal Stritch tied it on the next point, Peru State scored seven straight which included two kills by Jhessica Martins (Uberlandia, Brazil). The closest the Wolves would be in the first set was at 9-4 as the 'Cats went on to win 25-13.

 
The second set was tighter earlier and was seven times with the last tie coming at 13-13 before a kill by Kira Shapiro (Omaha) off a set by Brooke Rudebusch (Moorpark, Calif.) put the Bobcats up for good. A kill by Yorgelys Jaspe (San Carlos, Venezuela) ended the set with a 25-17 Bobcat victory.
 
Peru State tried a little different line-up in the third set and had a few challenges as Cardinal Stritch ended up leading throughout. The final score showed the Wolves winning 25-15.
 
It was a tight battle throughout in the fourth set with the largest lead being three points with ten ties in the set. The Wolves had a 23-20 lead before Peru State started to battle back. Cardinal Stritch also led 24-22 before the 'Cats rattled off four straight for the 26-24 win. Martins ended the match with a kill from Rudebusch.
 
Cardinal Stritch Game Stats
 
Peru Sate was led by Martins with a team-high 12 kills while hitting .407 in the first match of the season. Jaspe and Shapiro each added nine kills with Janjevic finishing with seven.

 
Rudebusch put up 35 assists out of the team's 41 total.
 
The Bobcats had seven service aces with Janjevic and Jaspe each having two. Rudebusch, Rian Kirby (Gretna), and Meg Grose (Peoria, Ariz.) each had one.
 
Cristina Viera (Montevideo, Uruguay) had a team-high 27 digs with Jaspe adding 11.
 
Janjevic was credited with the lone solo block while adding two block assists. Alex Bowman (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) had four block assists while Kirby and Shapiro each two.

Cardinal Stritch Box Score
 
Trinity Christian Highlights
 
After dropping the first two sets, Peru State battled back and took the next three to capture their second win of the 2016 season.
 
The 'Cats had a 23-21 lead in the first set only to see Trinity Christian come back with four straight to take the first set 25-23.
 
In the second set, the Trolls took an early lead and never looked back. Trinity Christian ended up winning 25-16.

 
The third set was another tight one with Peru State leading most of the way. The Bobcats had set point at 24-22 only to see the Trolls come back to take a 25-24 lead. A kill by Martins off a Rudebusch assist tied the game at 25-25. Another Martins kill, this time from Samantha Hinrichs (Ankeny, Iowa) put the 'Cats up 26-25. The set ended on a bad ball handling by the Trolls with Peru State winning 27-25.
 
After the game was tied at 8-8, Peru State slowly pulled away for a 25-18 fourth set win which ended with a Trinity Christian hitting error.
 
Peru State started the fifth set with a kill by Kirby on a set by Grose and then never trailed in the deciding set. A Troll serving error gave the Bobcats their 15^th and deciding point to win 15-9.
 
Trinity Christian Game Stats
 
Janjevic led the team with 14 kills while Martins and Bowman each added 12 kills. Janjevic hit a remarkable .650 for the game.
 
Rudebusch led the setting with 33 assists. She also led the team with four service aces while Hinrichs, Janjevic, and Viera each added one.

 
Viera led the team with 33 digs while Gianna Gangi (Simi Valley, Calif.) and Rudebusch added 14 and ten respectively.
 
Janjevic was credited with two solo blocks while Jennifer Ostrowski (Kankakee, Ill.) added one. Janjevic added six block assists with Bowman contributing four. Kirby and Jaspe each had two block assists.

Trinity Christian Box Score
 
Bethel Game Highlights
 
After winning their first matches on Friday, Peru State faced the tourney hosts who had dropped their first two matches. However, that did not mean the Pilots were an easy team as they pushed the Bobcats to five sets before the 'Cats won the fifth and deciding set to go 3-0 on the season.
 
Peru State had an early lead in the first set before the Pilots tied it at 8-8. After that point, the Bobcats did pull away for a 25-16 win as Ostrowski put down a kill off an assist from Grose.
 
In the second set, the result was similar as the 'Cats slowly pulled away from the Pilots to win 25-15 as Bethel had two attack errors to end the set.
 
The third set was tight throughout, but Peru State had a 23-22 lead after Bowman put down a kill on an assist from Viera. Two attack errors and a setting error by the Bobcats led to a 25-23 loss as Bethel prevailed to force a fourth set.

 
The third set win gave Bethel a little edge as they went on to win 25-17 in the fourth set.
 
But, Peru State gained its resolve and never trailed in the deciding set on their way to a 15-7 win. Martins took a set from Rudebusch and got a kill to give the 'Cats a 3-2 match win.
 
Bethel Game Stats
 
Kirby was the only Bobcat in double figures with ten kills. Jaspe adding nine with Janjevic and Shapiro each adding seven. Ostrowski finished with six kills while hitting .455.
 
Grose and Rudebusch ran a 6-2 and had 18 and 15 assists respectively.
 
Rudebusch, Grose, Gangi, Janjevic, and Jaspe each had one service ace.
 

Viera led the team with 28 digs while Rudebusch and Grose having 11 and ten respectively.
 
Peru State did not have any solo blocks in the game. Janjevic had two block assists while Ostrowski, Shapiro, Bowman, and Jaspe each had one block assist.

Bethel Box Score
 
Indiana Wesleyan Game Highlights
 
It was the first match of the season for the #24 Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats while the Bobcats were already playing their fourth.
 
The first set was tight early with the teams being tied at 9-9 before the Wildcats scored five straight points. Peru State fought back to make it 16-14 but that was as close as they would get as Indiana Wesleyan went on to win 25-18.
 
It was eerily similar in the second set as the teams were again tied at 9-9 and then later at 12-12 before Indiana Wesleyan went on a little run and jumped out to a 21-13 lead. Peru State fought back, but eventually lost 25-17.
 
Peru State led early in the third set before the Wildcats came back to go ahead 17-15. The 'Cats would score the next five points to go up 20-17 and eventually went on to win as Shapiro put down the final kill off an assist from Grose. Peru State won 25-21 to force a fourth set.
 
The Wildcats jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the fourth set. Peru State was as close as three points at 11-8 and later trailed 18-14. Indiana Wesleyan would end up scoring the final seven points to gain their first victory of 2016.

 
Indiana Wesleyan Game Stats
 
Peru State managed only to hit .124 in the match which was their lowest of the tournament. No Bobcat was in double figures with kills. Jaspe and Martins each finished with seven kills with Kirby and Janjevic each adding five.
 
Rudebusch had 16 assists while Grose had 11.
 
Janjevic led a game-high three service aces with Grose adding one.
 
Viera finished with 21 digs with Jaspe adding ten.
 
Janjevic had one solo block and two block assists to lead the team. Kirby and Ostrowski each had three block assists.

Indiana Wesleyan Box Score
 
Upcoming Games
 
Peru State will travel to Seward Tuesday night to take on #20 Concordia. The Bulldogs swept Waldorf (Iowa) Saturday evening for their first win of the year.
 
On Friday and Saturday, the 'Cats will host their own Fall Classic. Peru State will play two games on Friday and two games on Saturday.
 
York will be Peru State's first opponent on Friday at 1 p.m. It will be the Panthers' first match of the season. At 7 p.m., the 'Cats will face Mayville State (N.D.). This will also be the Comets' first game of the 2016 season.
 
On Saturday, the Bobcats will face Johnson & Wales (Colo.) at noon and finish the tournament against Presentation (S.D.) at 4 p.m.  The Tigers are 1-3 while the Saints will have played two games prior in the tournament.